The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Archive » Nancy Drew

New Adventures for 2013!

Benjamin — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:15:22 +0000

In my last post I mentioned that both The Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers and Nancy Drew: Girl Detective have come to an end this year, and speculated that perhaps Simon & Schuster had decided to focus on its series for younger readers unless it planned to do new Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew reboots. Turns out the answer was already out there! The Hardy Boys Unofficial Home Page announced a few months ago that the latest Hardy Boys reboot, The Hardy Boys Adventures, will begin in January 2013 with two titles released simultaneously (the first entitled Secret of the Red Arrow), with a third title scheduled for October 2013. It looks likely that a Nancy Drew reboot will also occur.

I’m really glad, and judging by the title Secret of the Red Arrow it sounds like they are returning to a more “classic” format. When I bought the last Undercover Brothers and Girl Detective volumes a few weeks ago the cashier at my local bookstore mentioned that the Hardy Boys are selling really well of late. Apparently when dads look for books for their sons they go with what’s familiar, so perhaps S&S is trying to reach that market.

More on these new series as new details are released!

UPDATE: According to Paul Mular, the first title of Nancy Drew Diaries is Curse of the Arctic Star, also scheduled for publication in January 2013!

UPDATE: The second title of the Nancy Drew Diaries series is Strangers on a Train. Wikipedia lists February 2013 as the release date of the first two volumes. Apparently both series will be published in hardcover and paperback simultaneously.

Changes

Benjamin — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 12:45:59 +0000

I haven’t added a new blog entry to this site in almost eighteen months, mainly because there hasn’t been much news to report. At this point, however, it looks like several key series that have been slowing down over the last few years have finally come to an end. The Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers has reportedly been cancelled with book 39 (Movie Mayhem), whereas Nancy Drew: Girl Detective has ended with book 47 (Stalk, Don’t Run), both of which appeared earlier this year. The only announced title that is still forthcoming is Stage Fright, the sixth and final volume in the Nancy Drew: Girl Detective and the Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers Super Mystery series, due out this summer. The two ongoing series for younger readers, The Hardy Boys Secret Files and Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, are still going strong, with two or three new titles currently announced for release in each series later in 2012.

A similar pattern has occurred over in the graphic novel front. A third volume in Nancy Drew: The New Case Files series appeared in August 2011, and a boxed set of all three volumes was available last November; so far no future volumes have been announced. Similarly, The Hardy Boys: The New Case Files ended with two volumes, the second of which appeared in March 2011, with no boxed set in sight. It seems unlikely that either series will resume, especially since a new graphic novel series, Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, is scheduled to begin in late October.

Given these shifts, it appears that Simon & Schuster and Papercutz have both decided to focus their energies on Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series for younger readers. Unless, of course, another set of reboots is in the works!

New Titles for 2011

Benjamin — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 03:38:38 +0000

What’s next in for The Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers? The Deathstalker Trilogy, whose first title, Movie Menace, is scheduled for publication in May 2011.

Also, the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew will be teaming up for a fifth Undercover Brothers/Girl Detective Super Mystery, Bonfire Masquerade.

Fourteen Months Later

Benjamin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:36:08 +0000

Since my last blog entry (dated 8 June 2009!), the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew properties have continued to publish steadily. In the last fourteen months, six new titles have been added to The Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers (X-plosion #29, The X-Factor #30, Killer Mission #31, Private Killer #32, Killer Connections #33, and The Children of the Lost #34) and to Nancy Drew: Girl Detective: Model Menace #37, Model Suspect #38, Green-Eyed Monster #39, Green with Envy #40, Seeing Green #41, and Secret Sabotage #42). While both series have been publishing bi-monthly since they began in 2005 and 2004, respectively, it looks like the publication schedule is slowing down, which is troublesome if only because both series currently publish trilogies: in the Undercover Brothers series, the first Lost Mystery Trilogy book appeared in May, but the second volume, Lost Brother, isn’t due out until mid-October, and the third, Forever Lost, will be published in early January 2011; in the Girl Detective series, the second book in the Sabotage Mystery trilogy, Serial Sabotage, is also scheduled for publication in mid-October, but the third, Sabotage Surrender, won’t be on sale until February 2011. This is quite a while for readers to wait for the next installment, but perhaps it’s a sign of change ahead. Aladdin Paperbacks also published a fourth volume in the joint Super Mystery series, Gold Medal Murder, this month.

In the series for six- to eight-year-olds, the publication trend seems fairly similar: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew saw six new books since June 2009 as well: Double Take #21, Unicorn Uproar #22, Babysitting Bandit #23, Beauty Parlor Princess #24, Princess Mix-up Mystery #25, and Camp Creepy #26. The next volume in that series, Cat Burglar Caper #27, will appear in September, followed by Time Thief #28, Designed for Disaster #29, and Dance Off #30, all scheduled for publication in 2011. Earlier this year, Aladdin Paperbacks launched a new series, The Hardy Boys Secret Files, with two titles – Trouble at the Arcade #1 and The Missing Mitt #2 – released in April. The next three volumes – Mystery Map #3, Hopping Mad #4, A Monster of a Mystery #5 – are scheduled for publication in August 2010, September 2010, and April 2011, respectively.

Although Applewood Books ceased their publication of facsimile editions of the original Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew mysteries in 2006, they are issuing a boxed set of the first six Hardy Boys Mystery Stories in September 2010! Although it is similar in format to the boxed set they released for Nancy Drew’s 75th anniversary in 2005, there doesn’t seem to be a special occasion prompting this new set.

Over on the graphic novel front, Papercutz is about to issue their last volume of both The Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers (Deadly Strategy #20) and Nancy Drew: Girl Detective (High School Mystery 2: The Lost Verse #21) this August. Immediately after that, they will reboot both series in September 2010: The Hardy Boys: The New Case Files and Nancy Drew: The New Case Files.

So, in a nutshell, lots of changes in the last fourteen months, and perhaps a bit of slowing down in the publication schedule. In all likelihood, there will be more changes ahead of us in the months to come, so stay tuned.

First Two Graphic Novels for 2010

Benjamin — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:34:38 +0000

The first two titles in the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew graphic novel series published by Papercutz in 2010 are now available to pre-order: Nancy Drew: Girl Detective #20: High School Musical Mystery, scheduled for publication in January; and The Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers #20: Deadly Strategy, scheduled for publication in March.

NDGD 36: Model Crime (2009)

Benjamin — Sun, 31 May 2009 20:14:11 +0000

Model Mystery Trilogy, Book One

By Carolyn Keene

First Aladdin Paperbacks edition June 2009

ISBN: 978-1-4169-7840-4

Synopsis

Sydney, Bess and George’s cousin and my good friend, is finally getting married to her fiancé, Vic! We’re so happy for her, and we’re sure it’s going to be a beautiful wedding—after all, she’s a famous model and he’s a reality TV stud. Plus, we’re all bridesmaids! Imagine seeing George in a dress….

But that’s where the fun and games stop. As Sydney prepares for her wedding, mysterious things start happening to her and Vic. Vic is almost poisoned, and Sydney’s bridal shower is sabotaged—and there are too many suspects to count. But why would anyone want to ruin Sydney’s special day?

These can’t be coincidences. I’m sure there is something sinister afoot, and I’m determined to find it out and help my friend.

Link: Nancy Drew: Girl Detective (2004-)

NDCC 20: Treasure Trouble (2009)

Benjamin — Mon, 18 May 2009 13:42:44 +0000

By Carolyn Keene

Illustrated by Macky Pamintuan

First Aladdin paperbacks edition May 2009

ISBN: 978-1-4169-7809-1

Synopsis

Nancy, George, and Bess are headed to beautiful Barnacle Beach for a pirate-themed birthday party. They’ve planned every detail, from nautical party games to a real chest of buried treasure. This is going to be the most fun party ever!

Until none of the guests show up. Perhaps they’ve been scared off by mythical beach monster Lonny the Lake Lizard. But that’s just silly—monsters aren’t real, right?

And now the treasure is gone! This looks like another case for the Clue Crew—time to find the missing treasure, and the missing friends, too!

Link: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew (2006-)

Three New Clue Crew Titles for 2010

Benjamin — Thu, 14 May 2009 01:03:39 +0000

Announcing three more titles in the Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew series scheduled for 2010: Princess Mix-up Mystery #25, Cat Burglar Caper #26, and Camp Creepy #27.

Five New Graphic Novels for 2009

Benjamin — Sat, 02 May 2009 22:20:31 +0000

The latest books in the Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers graphic novels series and the Nancy Drew: Girl Detective graphic novels series—Shhhhhh! and Night of the Living Chatchke, respectively—were released this month. Five more titles will be added to these series later in 2009. These are, in the former series, Word Up! #17, D.A.N.G.E.R. Spells the Hangman! #18, and Chaos at 30,000 Feet! #19; and in the latter series, City Under the Basement #18 and Cliff Hanger #19. A fourth boxed set for each series, containing volumes nine to twelve, will be released in September 2009.

Updates: Scholarship and Reviews

Benjamin — Sat, 02 May 2009 14:04:59 +0000

I have finally updated the scholarships page, first by moving all reviews of academic titles to a new reviews page, and second by adding materials that I had missed. This includes new (and not-so-new) work by Rob K. Baum, Michael Bronski, Linda K. Christian-Smith, Alisa Clapp-Itnyre, Michael G. Cornelius, Leona W. Fisher, Stephanie Foote, Marla Harris, Angela Hill, Deidre Johnson, Margaret Kleszynski, Mary Linehan, Anne H. Lundin, Mary Jeanette Moran, Ilana Nash, Meghan O’Rourke, Linda M. Pavonetti, Alan Pickrell, Isabella Roblin, and Ramsay Scott. Have I missed anything? Please let me know (even if the work in question is your own), since the databases I consult don’t include all materials in popular sources.